This week, Oregon Attorney General John Groger and Treasurer Ted Wheeler announced that the state is suing University of Phoenix’s parent company, Apollo Group Inc. of Arizona, and several of its executives for securities fraud. The state officials claim that the plaintiffs misled investors in the firm’s financial statements about…
Public companies and employers may have to contend with an unlimited number of expensive securities lawsuits under the whistleblower provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which not only includes provisions for an expanded statute of limitations under which employees can sue employers for discriminatory action…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged investment adviser Neal Greenberg with securities fraud and breach of fiduciary duty related to the making of recommendations and marketing of hedge funds to investors. According to the SEC, Greenberg, who was the CEO of Tactical Allocation Services LLP and also the portfolio…
According to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, the agency is reviewing the proxy process to determine how information is transmitted to shareholders and the public. They are also studying how shareholder votes are counted. She says the exam will focus on the role of proxy advisory firms, the…
UBS AG has filed a motion to dismiss a class securities case against it. The move is putting the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. to the test. In this securities fraud case, four institutional investors—three of them foreign—are charging UBS and a number…
The North American Securities Administrators Association, the Consumer Federation of America, the Investment Adviser Association, the Financial Planning Association, AARP, and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors have sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro asking that the agency examine a recent national survey that…
According to Illinois securities regulator Tanya Solov, brokerage firms are driving investors with securities arbitration claims against them to settle their cases. Solov says that they are doing this by barraging investors with discovery information requests. Solov was quoted at the yearly North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. meeting. Solov…
According to US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Elisse Walter, municipal securities market investors with securities fraud cases are entitled to clear information about the bonds they are purchasing. Walters spoke at an SEC-sponsored hearing last month. Other panelists also echoed the need for accuracy, transparency, and timeliness of disclosure for…
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel has ordered Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. to pay $4.43 million in damages and interest to about 22 investors that had accused brokerage manager Scott B. Gordon of “selling away.” The panel wrote in its decision that the brokerage firm was “negligent” in failing to…
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says it wants investors with securities claims against broker-dealers to have the right to an arbitration panel that doesn’t include industry representatives. FINRA will file its proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval. Under the new rule, investors would have the option of…